‘Same old waiting game’ for VA facility

Wednesday

Jul 19, 2017 at 7:20 PMJul 19, 2017 at 7:20 PM

Joe Goldeen Record Staff Writer @JoeGoldeen

FRENCH CAMP — Construction of an expanded medical clinic and new 120-bed living center for the area’s military veterans is now not expected to begin until at least the winter of 2018-19, further frustrating those who rely on the Veterans Affairs health system for their medical care.

Completion of the initial phase of the major project is expected three years later in early 2022. The first patient could step through the doors by summer 2022.

The two-year delay from the most recent anticipated completion date of 2020 is partially the result of a change in federal guidelines that placed the proposed clinic site into a 500-year floodplain from its previous 100-year floodplain designation, according to a representative with the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

That change will necessitate raising the elevation of the site 6 to 8 feet in some areas and allowing time for the massive amount of fill dirt to settle, said the representative, John Bassignani, chief of planning and programming with the VA Palo Alto administration.

The 52-acre site is on an undeveloped parcel facing Manthey Road and Interstate 5 directly north of San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp.

The facility has been promised for years to the 80,000 veterans living in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and foothills. Many of those veterans must travel over the Altamont Pass into Bay Area traffic for much of their specialized health needs. If built, the new campus will include:

• A four-story, 158,000-square-foot Community Based Outpatient Clinic offering an expanded list of primary and specialized medical, dental and mental health services.

• A 120-bed Community Living Center covering approximately 150,000 square feet and featuring 12 “neighborhoods,” each consisting of 10 private rooms and bathrooms sharing a community kitchen and living and dining rooms.

• A police and logistics building.

• A central plant building serving the entire complex.

The House of Representatives voted in 2016 to appropriate $139 million for the clinic portion of the campus, with funding for the Community Living Center to be requested at an unspecified later date, according to the VA.

Bassignani said this week that the latest construction documents from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are expected to be completed this fall.

“This is the second submittal that is like a final submittal for 100 percent design. There will be advertising for bids for the project in spring 2018. Then, the expected award for construction would be in winter 2018 — sometime between November through February 2019,” Bassignani said.

Construction of the clinic is estimated to be completed during the winter months of 2021-22 and “the first patient day is anticipated to be summer 2022,” he said.

The delays and funding uncertainties have continued to confound area veterans and political leaders.

When requested to comment, Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, emailed the following statement:

“On July 18, I received a status update on the French Camp project from the Army Corps of Engineers, which is working hand-in-hand with VA on the project. Their response to my inquiry was vague and inadequate for me, and more importantly, for the thousands of veterans in our region who have waited too long for this facility to be built.

“I’ll be meeting with the new director at the Palo Alto VA to further discuss the project and convey its urgency and the need for transparency through the process. Our veterans deserve no less.”

Attempts over several days to connect with a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers for comment were unsuccessful.

Richard Campos, 65, a well-known area veterans advocate who served in both the Vietnam and Iraq wars and retired from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, said he could speak only for himself when asked to comment.

“It’s like the same old waiting game, hearing these deadlines,” Campos said. “They keep moving them backwards and backwards and backwards. We won’t believe it until we see ground broke with our own eyes. It’s very frustrating.”

Campos is tired of the constant promises and numerous meetings that have been conducted “about so-called progress. The politicians are meeting with us, telling us they are working as hard as they can, and I am not doubting them, but actions speak louder than words.”

For some veterans with physical or mental disabilities or frailties due to age, traveling to the VA’s medical complex in Palo Alto is a hardship.

“They hear the words so many times, but with no progress it makes them really feel like nobody cares,” Campos said. “The veterans out there want to see actions.”

Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.